fayetteville

UM OK? HOW DID WE GET HERE? It’s been a long time coming, y’all. Dang I cannot believe I started this little blog three years ago. I was in a place where I just wanted something that I could control, something that was mine. The summer before I jetted off to LSU, I made a leap of faith and created this corner of the internet. What originally was a blog for the preppy gal has evolved into something I couldn’t have ever dreamed of.

Blogging has truly been such a humbling experience. I honestly don’t think I would be the person I am today if I hadn’t started this blog. It’s brought me out of shell more than I’d like to admit. Putting yourself out there in real life is scary. But on the internet? Even more scary. That stuff is there to stay. Even after I am gone, LGIP will still be in the archives of the internet. Crazy stuff.

Growing up on the internet is such a unique experience. When I look back at some of my first blog posts, I can’t help but laugh. I’ve changed SO MUCH, y’all. I’ve grown up. AHHH it’s insane to think that I started all of this to chronicle my college experience and now it’s almost over. As I enter my senior year, I am so thankful I have an online scrapbook (of sorts) that I can go back and relieve my college years through.

Blogging has taught me so many things: discipline, self-confidence, the value of hard work. The list goes on and on. But mainly I think the one thing I have taken away from this entire crazy journey so far is that the internet does not define me. I know I talked about this a bit in one of my recent girl talk posts, but I’ll mention it again because I see so much value in it. The number of likes, comments, page views, and Instagram followers does not belittle me as a person. AT ALL. That’s something I know I have struggled with. To be honest, I still struggle with it to this day. It’s so hard to not define yourself based off what others think, especially in the digital age. But I think I’ve learned I’ve got to stay true to myself and the rest will follow.

As I stay true to myself: who I am and who I am working to be, things will fall into place. LGIP in the past year has become a place where girls can come and just be. We don’t have to pretend like we have it all together, because we sure as hell don’t. This summer I wrote one of my deepest (and honestly most favorite posts) and the feedback I got was AMAZING. It was unlike any other post I had written before. I got deep. Real deep. And y’all enjoyed it. It was relatable. It’s posts like those, where I can get real and y’all will understand/relate me to that make this entire thing worth it.

SO to sum up this entire heart-to-heart I want to say: THANK YOU. The past three years have been challenging mentally. That’s something that I never expected to get out of this experience, but I am appreciative that I did. Thanks to y’all, Louisiana Girl in Pearls has honestly made me a better person.

If you’re still with me, I would love to talk a quick lil trip down memory lane and share some of my FAVORITE LGIP posts from the last year.

I am a chronic over-packer. I never fail to bring 4 more outfits than I need, way too many pairs of shoes and the lipstick that I haven’t worn in the past 7 months but might be feeling it when I get on vacay. IT’S NOT HEALTHY. With absolutely HORRIBLE experiences I’ve had while checking my bags, I now always vow to CARRY ON EVERYTHING. If you’re an over-packer like me, stick around and I’ll share a few tips for ya on how I manage to fit alll of my shiz in a carry on bag and personal item (aka purse). Let’s gooooo!

carry on the essentials

OK so I know this is easier said than done. Especially if you’ve got a longer trip. As far as skincare goes: simplify your routine. If you normally do 5 steps, make it 3. Maybe you don’t need to bring that face mask or crazy 3 step under eye regimen. Stick to the basics: cleanser (make sure it’s under 3oz!), moisturizer and maybe a toner or eye cream. I love bringing products that are double duty to save room. This serum is amazing to multi task with. Use it for your hair, face and body moisturizer and even as a cuticle oil!

pack pieces that you can mix and match

I looooove two piece sets because they’re basically like three outfits in one. Wear the top with another pair of bottoms, the bottoms with another top or the matching top and bottoms together! They are the best and really a savior for saving space while traveling. I recently brought this set on my trip home to NOLA and it was PERFECT. I always like to bring a good basic jean jacket too for the plane and as a layering piece. I’ll link a few of my summer basics I brought on my recent trip for y’all below!

compartmentalize everything

The easiest way to stay organized is by compartmentalizing everything. Keep all of your cosmetics in one bag, your face and body products in another, your electronics, shoes, jewelry and what ever else your heart desires in separate bags too. I find this is truly the most simple way to pack! It keeps things organized and easier to keep track of. If you’re like me, your suitcase can EASILY become a black hole so bags of all sorts are super duper helpful.

With all of this being said, I’m linking a bunch of things I brought on my trip this weekend! Including this duffel and my favorite purse to travel with.

my travel must haves

Howdy y’all. Hope everyone has had a great week so far! I know for me, today seriously felt like the most Monday Thursday ever. I think it’s that Wednesday off for the fourth is what threw me off! Nonetheless, I am so looking forward to this weekend as I’ll be headed up to the Big Apple. Eeekkkk! A get away for a bit to catch up with two of my closest friends is just what I need.

Last time I posted about these shoes on Instagram, I got an OVERLOAD of messages asking for details. So I figured I may as well do a blog post about em and show y’all how I style them!

Black, white, and snakeskin. Can’t get much better than that, right? I’m a sucker for a neutral outfit because I feel like I don’t have to think… I can just grab and go. Please lmk when there will be a time where black and white won’t be in style? Never. I wanted to keep everything simple and light considering it’s hot as Hades up here in Fayetteville. On a side note: I wear these shorts at LEAST twice a week. They’re a great buy if you’re a jean-shorts-to-everything kinda gal like me.

the best shoes ever

I had been lusting after these for months and they were honestly the first thing I bought while working at RiffRaff because I was so dang excited about them. I loooove how comfortable they are! With the ankle strap and 1.5″ platform — ya get the best of both worlds (style AND comfort). I couldn’t pass up getting them in both colors lol #extraaf

I think my favorite part about these shoes is how versatile they are. I’ve done them with jeans, dresses, skirts and they honestly look good with EVERYTHING. I’m even taking them with me to NYC this weekend to go with all my day and night outfits. Did I mention that they’re ON SALE? Bottom line: you NEED A PAIR. Not kidding.

HELLLERRRR my friends. Feels like it’s been AWHILE. Since the summer is about halfway through for most of you *cue the sobs* I wanted to check in and give y’all a lil life update. Most of you voted for some more girl talk kind of posts via my Insta stories a few weeks ago (thank you if you voted ILY A MILLI) so here I am delivering!

If you are new to LGIP, let me fill ya in. I moved to Fayetteville, AR this summer for an internship at RiffRaff. I moved here not knowing A SINGLE SOUL. Man, was it intimidating. I mean, I guess I would consider myself a pretty friendly person and I honestly believe I could talk to anyone (if you know me IRL you know I am a talker). I was scared, but I knew that I would be able to make friends if I put myself out there. Well I am happy to report, I have friends! Good friends, no, GREAT FRIENDS up here in Arkansas. Friendships don’t come easy and I will say opening up right away with all of these girls it has paid off.

Coming up here and being 10 hours away from home (I miss you NOLA) has been hard. I’m not gonna lie to y’all I have a had a mental breakdown or two up here. Nothing a fountain coke, bath, and drive around town at night can’t fix right? Wrong. I’m not here to complain about being away from home because it was all my decision to take this leap of faith but I don’t want y’all to think it’s been all sunshine and rainbows. I mean, hey, I miss home ALL THE TIME but I am trying to make the most of this amazing opportunity being up here by myself for the whole summer.

I’ve taken up journaling this summer too and it’s made HUGE difference. Keeping all of my thoughts caged up inside is not healthy. I enjoy getting them all out onto paper each night. Not only is it extremely therapeutic, but I really crack myself up and I love going back and reading my old journal entries.

Being up here has sparked a period of extreme growth for me. I mean, not having my family and friends to rely on 24/7 is really challenging. I am sooo used to living in the sorority house where you’re never alone, so being alone like this was a bit of a culture shock for me. My mom has always told me I was independent and I’ve seen that quality in myself this summer. I LOVE doing things alone. My solo Target trips, drives around town, and dinners are truly some of my favorite things to do. Being alone isn’t something to be ashamed of so why should I stay cooped up at home? I guess this segways great into my next topic: boys.

Oh god, I hate em, I love em, and feel everything between for em. Y’all have heard me talk about boys before on LGIP and this is a subject I’m not ashamed to speak on. Yes, I am still single as a pringle. Yes, it’s hard seeing all of my friends and EVERY SINGLE PERSON on my Insta timeline in relationships when I am far from that. But I think at this point in my life, as much as I may resent it, being single is what I need. I needed this time to take care of myself. There is a time and place for boys I guess for me, it’s just not now?

I am not saying I’m anti boy AT ALL. For me personally, I’ve decided that if talking to a boy makes me question my self-worth I don’t think it’s what I should be striving for. If a boy doesn’t answer my Snapchat it by no means degrades me. It doesn’t make me any less me. I’ll eventually find someone who will want to talk to me, regardless of how weird I am! That day is just not today?! This is something that sometimes I feel like I’ve conquered this feeling, but other days I let it get to me. I’m a work in progress as I should be. I hope some of you girls can relate to this. I know it’s a feeling I’ve been feeling for quite some time now. Being single is ok. Being single is awesome!

As I hinted to earlier, I have had a mental breakdown or two this summer. Mostly “WTF am I doing?” “Why don’t I have a boyfriend?” and other classic quarter-life crisis questions. I’ll admit to feeling trapped. Being away from home has really urged me to want to travel and get out of my comfort zone. Moving to Arkansas was a huge step for me and it’s really challenged me to get out of my daily routine. I am a creature of habit, so sometimes that break in the routine can be really tough. But I really needed to be able to take a break in my routine so it’s been good.

Moving away from home has sparked an urge for travel. Not kidding, I dreaaaammm of getting out and seeing the world. Especially this summer, I cannot stop thinking about it. Maybe the fact that my time living in Louisiana will come to an end soon? My travel bucket list right now consists of: SoCal, NYC, Arizona and Austin, TX. It’s been great to get out of good ole Louisiana, but I will say it’s made me realize there truly is no place like home. I’m not so sure Louisiana is my vibe, but I guess I’ll have to travel a bit out of school and see where I feel at home? It’ll all come soon I guess (in less than a year from now I’ll be a college grad holy cow I cannot think that far ahead lol).

Sooooo if you’re still here after ALL OF THIS- thanks. No really, thanks for reading, following along, commenting on my Instagram posts – I really appreciate all of you! I hope you’ll continue to follow along with me on my adventures as I enter this INSANE season of life. LOTS N LOTS OF LOVE.

Here’s the link to my set: top and bottom. It’s been one of my faves lately – no really I’ve been wearing it allll weekend lol.

Hello helloooo! Hope everyone’s week is off to a great start! I know I’ve been a bit MIA because my luggage was lost last week for a few days and of course it had my outfits to shoot inside of it. Gotta love that. But it’s back and I am thankful because that means I can FINALLY share this post with y’all! It’s one I’m super excited for. What’s in my forever 21 shopping cart? Keep reading to find out!

THIS SET IS EVERYTHING. Stripes? Check. Two piece? Check. Adorable and affordable? Check. Basically it’s screaming for you to add it to your closet! I am a huge stripe girl, especially in the summer. I swear I wear stripes WAY TOO MUCH. Another one of my favorite trends this summer is sets because they’re so versatile. I layered some necklaces over mine for some more flair but you could totally style this any way your heart desires. I could SO see this set (top + bottom) going perfect with a hat and some sweet sunnies.

and now onto the good stuff…

Basically what I did was spend hours on the Forever 21 website so you don’t have to! I went through each category on the site and picked out some of my favorites. The best part about all of this? It’s budget friendly! Thank you Forever 21 for helping a girl ballin on a budget out. I hope y’all are able to scoop up a few things from this massive roundup. Happy shopping!

sets

tops

dress

bottoms

swim

accessories

There is nothin like a quick and easy hairstyle that’ll last for DAYS. Like, really nothing better. I’m here to share with you my secrets to my favorite waves (that I honestly wear year round) that are perfect for summer!

first things first

If you can start on dirty hair, it’s probably best because if your hair is anythinglike mine it’ll hold much better when it’s got a little grit to it! If your hair is clean, that’ll do too! Before I start I’ll spritz some heat protectant on the ends of my hair. This one is my recent fave and it smells amazing! Then I’ll brush it through just to make sure it’s evenly distributed!

heat things up

I’ll then heat up my wand to a few heat settings below the hottest (I used to go all the way up but I’m trying to save my poor hair so medium heat it is). My wand is tried and TRUE, y’all. It’s under $30 and it’s lasted me 6 years now! Trust me, this baby’s got ya if you’re in the market for a good wand. The barrel is a 1″-1 1/4″ so it’s the perfect size for creating waves. For this look in particular I split my hair in half and work from the back to the front. I normally end up doing 4 chunks/waves on each side. This is what’ll give ya that beach messy look! I hold the wand with the smallest side facing down and wrap my hair around the wand away from my face. Some people alternate away and towards but I like all of my curls to be away so that’s just what I do. Also be sure to leave the ends out a bit to create that messier look!

let set and then style

Once I’ve held the hair around the barrel for around 10 seconds, I let the chunk of hair into the palm of my hand and press it into my head to set the wave. Sounds weird but I swear it works?! My hair has a hard time staying, so I don’t touch my hair until it’s cooled. Then I’ll shake it out, run my fingers through it and play with it until it’s to the look I want! If you want to add more texture I love either of these sprays (one or two).

Normally the next morning I’ll run my fingers through the waves and restyle them a bit and then spray some more texture spray or hairspray to hold. They normally last me until I wash my hair next (which now is around every 3 days).

PS: do y’all like the dark hair? I’ve been dying it consistently this year and I LOOOOVEE it dark!

ride the wave

SUMMER TYME IN A ROMPER FEELS SO GOOD Y’ALL. Happy to say I am settled in and have been exploring around Fayetteville for some sweet photo spots. I crossed this mural on my first day here and I mentally noted it for a blog post. Don’t ya love it? Hah, I always joke with my friends about decaf coffee? There’s no point? Coffee = caffeine. Hopefully some of y’all feel me. Before I bore ya, let’s skip on ahead to my outfit! Rompers: ya either love em or hate em. I personally am I BIG FAN (for a laugh, check out a vintage post where I also styled a romper). They’re the easiest to throw on and go but I feel much more comfortable in a romper than I do a dress? Idk.

My romper is peeerffect for warm weather because it’s lightweight and not skin tight (nobody wants a romper sticking to them on a hot summer day). The neutral stripe is so flattering and made it soooo simple to pair accessories! I’m all about the button up detail for easy on and off and the adjustable straps are a game changer for oddly proportioned gals like myself (legs for days).

I always get comments about rompers and how scary they are – but fear not! There is certainly the right type of romper per body type. Some gals need a romper with some more shape to it, some with less. The key to rocking a romper is feeling confident in it! That’s something I’ve been catching onto lately. When I feel great about what I’m wearing others will notice. When I feel shitty about my outfit — it has the power to ruin my day (don’t ya hate that?). So pick you out a romper you feel good in and rock the hell outta it!

put yo stripes on

HELLO HELLO. I’m typing this LIVE FROM FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS. I’m all moved in and awful proud of myself for packing pretty minimalistically (hi mom). Here’s a lil peak of what I was able to pull together. The key: keep it simple and you’ll be good to go!!

I thought I would share some tips on how in the heck I managed to get everything I needed for the next three months in just a few boxes!

leave the knick knacks behind

I looove a good knick knack as much as the next gal, but leave em behind to save space. This move, I kept things very simplistic and cut doown on my knick knacks. Bye bye stack of 60 magazines, momentos from freshmen year and all of my assorted little candles and lucite trays (ahhhh it was painful to leave those behind I love them). I brought one picture frame and one wall hanging along with a few pictures to decorate my bookcase and it only all took up a little space in my storage bin #success

pack only clothes you’ve worn in the past month-two

If you haven’t worn it in the past 4 months, then it probably shouldn’t move with you. Basics are your best friend because they’re basic you can mix and match them bunches of ways! Check the weather prior to your move so you don’t end up with parkas in 95 degree weather or vice versa.

buy necessities when you get there

It’s so easy to want to pack EVERYTHING you’re ever going to need for the move before you leave, but leave the necessities like kitchen supplies, any extra toiletries, and cleaning supplies for when ya arrive. Make a trip to Target once you move in to grab everything you missed/couldn’t fit (try not to spend 2 hrs in there like I always do lol).

If you’re planning a move, whether it’s across the country or just down the street I hope you’ll try and do it as minimalistically as possible. If you know me in real life, I hope you’re proud I was able to leave my knick knacks behind. But dang does it feel good to have a clean start here in Fayetteville with my internship (read more about that here)! I started journaling (which I would so recommend if you already don’t. As someone who always has a million and one things running through her mind it is such a relief to sit down at the end of the day and just unleash all of those thoughts!!), working out a bit and *trying* to save my money. This summer is off to a fab start and I hope it’ll continue!

shop my room

the girl in pearls

Hi y’all, I’m Madison! I’m a fashion student at LSU who has an extreme obsession with fountain Coke, neutrals and One Direction. Fashion is my favorite form of expression and I love experimenting with my style (on a college gals budget it can be tough). I’m so excited you’re here! Kick iff your shoes and stay awhile!